No Kobe tomorrow vs Lakers

[ace3g]

Mike Bresnahan ‏ @Mike_Bresnahan

Kobe is not playing tomorrow night vs San Antonio, Lakers Coach Mike Brown told reporters. That'll be 3 missed games with sore left shin.

[Mel_13]

CIA Brown pulling the classic Pop tactic. No lose situation for the Lakers.

[024]

good, the lakers front court can play at full strength and we will see how the spurs' front court defense looks.

[Dex]

Whatever. I don't care about moral victories or benchmarks right now. Anything that puts the Lakers further behind the Spurs and gets them magic numbers is fine by me (provided the Spurs can take care of business).

[VBM]

Spurs are fucked...Lakers will be forced to used their bigs.

[Obstructed_View]

If I'm a Laker fan, I'm pretty happy about that. They're going to let the rest of the team get some momentum without Kobe Ballhog taking 30 shots a game, then they can plug him back in once he's feeling better for a playoff run. Either the Lakers are dangerous enough to beat anyone regardless of their seed or they have no chance of winning a title.

[manufan10]

Man, I was really looking forward to seeing Leonard defending Kobe. Now I have to wait a little longer. :depressed

[T Park]

Sit Duncan.

Play him bigger minutes vs Memphis.

Let Splitter Diaw and Blair have big minutes.

F the result.

[roycrikside]

Spurs are fucked...Lakers will be forced to used their bigs.

While I don't quite agree that the Spurs are fucked, tihs will make it a tougher game for them to win, tbh. Now they'll dump it inside to one of their two bigs on every play.


Kobe actually gave the Spurs defense some breathing room, knowing he's going to score 30 pts on 27 FGA. Now they'll be more efficient. Really, Kobe's biggest asset against Spurs was as a defender against Manu.


SA will need their bench to come up huge while Gasol & Bynum are sitting.

[Spurtacus]

Damn. I was looking forward to seeing Kawhi hassling him and forcing a 7-20 shooting game.

[therealtruth]

I bet Bynum and Gasol's numbers are bigger without Kobe. It will be a good test to see if we can defend good frontlines.

[George Gervin's Afro]

A win is a win.. We need to kick them early so we can rest for the Memphis game

[Splits]

CIA Brown pulling the classic Pop tactic. No lose situation for the Lakers.

Except that Brown is televising his move more than 24 hours ahead of time whereas Pop waits until the last minute. At least we can gameplan definitively.

[Mel_13]

Except that Brown is televising his move more than 24 hours ahead of time whereas Pop waits until the last minute. At least we can gameplan definitively.

the student has a long way to go before he surpasses the teacher.

[ViceCity84]

This helps the Lakers.
Bynum will kill Splitter.
Did anyone notice how terrible Duncan look last year vs Andrew Bynum and Lakers.He was awful.

[George Gervin's Afro]

I am interested to see how we play Sessions..

[Manu-20]

This is good news we will get to see how the spurs fair against the froncourt of the lakers

[DesignatedT]

It's very possible that in the 3 games vs the Lakers coming up both teams won't be at full strength the whole time.

[timvp]

The bad part about Kobe missing the game is it basically turns this into a must win game. If the Spurs lose to the Lakers without Kobe, that would shake the team's confidence and make L.A. really believe they can beat the Spurs.

Plus, the Spurs have a history of going into regular season tailspins after losing against the Lakers. Even last year, the Spurs season started going down the drain shortly after the Lakers came to San Antonio and curbstomped the Spurs.


.

[DesignatedT]

I don't necessarily think it's that big of a deal if the Spurs lose seeing that they play them 2 more times this week. As long as they don't lose all 3 or both at home these games really shouldn't mean much to either team.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

The bad part about Kobe missing the game is it basically turns this into a must win game. If the Spurs lose to the Lakers without Kobe, that would shake the team's confidence and make L.A. really believe they can beat the Spurs.

And historically, the Spurs have a history of going into regular season tailspins after losing against the Lakers. Even last year, the Spurs season starting going down the drain shortly after the Lakers came to San Antonio and curbstomped the Spurs.

Somebody buy this man a beer.

[Robz4000]

Not sure why everyone thinks this is gonna be bad. Considering they couldn't get it done against Phoenix (who is smaller than the Spurs) with Pau and Bynum having monster games, I see no reason to worry. It's looking like the real reason they lose is due to the bench being so bad, not Kobe taking 30 shots a game.

[Bruno]

This is a relatively good news for Spurs.

The negative aspect is that it will give Leonard one less game to learn Kobe's game.

I see three positive points of Kobe being out.
First, it will put more pressure on Spurs frontcourt because Lakers will feed more their bigs. How Spurs frontcourt will hold against the Gasol/Bynum frontcourt is a big key a future playoff series. I can even see Spurs adding a random 7 footer if things goes bad.
Second, a Spurs win, that will be easier to achieve with Kobe out, will basically secure a top 2 seed for Spurs. The magic number for the 2nd seed will be 3 if they win tomorrow.
Third, with a loss Lakers will have a more difficult time at getting the 3rd seed. Lakers and Thunder being on the other side of the bracket will be huge for Spurs.

[Mugen]

The bad part about Kobe missing the game is it basically turns this into a must win game. If the Spurs lose to the Lakers without Kobe, that would shake the team's confidence and make L.A. really believe they can beat the Spurs.

And historically, the Spurs have a history of going into regular season tailspins after losing against the Lakers. Even last year, the Spurs season starting going down the drain shortly after the Lakers came to San Antonio and curbstomped the Spurs.

Good. Finally, a must win game.

[slick'81]

bynum and gasol meet diaw,bonner and blair

[DesignatedT]

Right now I think I'd rather play LAL than MEM in the playoffs. Of course ideally LAC would grab the 3 seed.

[roycrikside]

The bad part about Kobe missing the game is it basically turns this into a must win game. If the Spurs lose to the Lakers without Kobe, that would shake the team's confidence and make L.A. really believe they can beat the Spurs.

And historically, the Spurs have a history of going into regular season tailspins after losing against the Lakers. Even last year, the Spurs season starting going down the drain shortly after the Lakers came to San Antonio and curbstomped the Spurs.

They shouldn't have too much of a problem.


Spurs bench >>>> Lakers bench, Pop >>>>> Brown, and the big three will all have had two days off.

Unless Gasol and Bynum play 48 mins each, it shouldn't be a chore to beat these guys. They barely beat the Hornets.

[Mugen]

timvp, would you sit any of the Big 3 in preparation for Memphis?

[roycrikside]

Right now I think I'd rather play LAL than MEM in the playoffs. Of course ideally LAC would grab the 3 seed.

Ideally, Spurs 1, Memphis 3 and Lakers 6. I can see the Lakers sliding a bit if Kobe is gonna be out for a while.

[loveforthegame]

Obviously you want to play them at full strength but with Kobe out they will force feed the bigs so it will be a good test for our guys.

[Mal]

non - issue. Kobe cant do harm to Spurs. It all depends on theirs bigs. In this situation they will have more chances to do harm, and to challenge Spurs` bigs. Should be interesting

[Mal]

Ideally, Spurs 1, Memphis 3 and Lakers 6. I can see the Lakers sliding a bit if Kobe is gonna be out for a while.

4th LAC, 8th Utah/PHX

[timvp]

timvp, would you sit any of the Big 3 in preparation for Memphis?

Nah, they already got their rest and the Lakers game is more of a must-win, IMO. The Grizzlies game is a back-to-back but both games are at home so it's easier than a typical back-to-back.

The hope is to blow the Kobe-less Lakers out of the water and then have a full roster against the Grizzlies.

[timvp]

My ultimate dream of bracket would have the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzlies and Mavs on the other side. It would take some luck but it's actually not that far-fetched, tbh.

[Mugen]

Nah, they already got their rest and the Lakers game is more of a must-win, IMO. The Grizzlies game is a back-to-back but both games are at home so it's easier than a typical back-to-back.

The hope is to blow the Kobe-less Lakers out of the water and then have a full roster against the Grizzlies.

Thanks.

I think they blow LA out tomorrow but that Grizzlies game is going to be extremely tough.

The Lakers D has been atrocious since the Sessions trade. World Peace has been playing better and Gasol/Bynum have been good but was pretty confident the Spurs would handle them with/without Kobe tomorrow.

[Mugen]

My ultimate dream of bracket would have the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzlies and Mavs on the other side. It would take some luck but it's actually not that far-fetched, tbh.

I don't see the Spurs moving to 1st with OKC's remaining schedule and Pop resting guys before the POs.

But Memphis at 3, LA at 6, and DAL at 7 is definitely possible.

[Spurtacus]

My ultimate dream of bracket would have the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzlies and Mavs on the other side. It would take some luck but it's actually not that far-fetched, tbh.

Quite possible with the exception of the Thunder. I think the easiest road to the Finals for the #2 Spurs is #7 Suns, #3 Clippers, #1 Thunder.

[DPG21920]

My ultimate dream of bracket would have the Thunder, Lakers, Grizzlies and Mavs on the other side. It would take some luck but it's actually not that far-fetched, tbh.

Okc is a lock, grizz are highly likely to be 4 or 5th seed, assuming the Spurs are 2(highly likely) That really leaves LA only to worry about and getting them 3 times could help. Not far fetched.

Dallas I would like to avoid but the first three are critical, not Dallas.

[DPG21920]

Ideal (can vary some)

Okc
SA
Lac
La
MEM
Den
Hou/Utah
Dallas

[Biernutz]

The loss of Kobe playing will not make me that sad. I get to watch the t-shirt Laker fan who bought lower level seats for $400 each to watch the bench play. Screwed by their own team. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHH

[Keepin' it real]

Maybe Pop will rest the entire team, and he will play a game of CAT against Mike Brown ... Winner take all.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Ideal:

OKC
SA
LAL
MEM
LAC
HOU
DAL
UTAH

[therealtruth]

Since Pop's been in experimenting mode this would be a good game to try our twin towers against theirs.

[pgardn]

If either team really feels a psychological advantage or let down after this game they need to hire some guts to put in their cranium.

For me its disappointing for one reason. We dont get to see Leonard on Kobe, or green or Jackson.

Still of interest will be Parker against Sessions. The rest it the same old stuff. And we play them two more times. Not a biggie. Parker should be able to blow by Sessions.

[jestersmash]

If either team really feels a psychological advantage or let down after this game they need to hire some guts to put in their cranium.

For me its disappointing for one reason. We dont get to see Leonard on Kobe, or green or Jackson.

Still of interest will be Parker against Sessions. The rest it the same old stuff. And we play them two more times. Not a biggie. Parker should be able to blow by Sessions.

That's my vote for most awkward sentence posted on Spurstalk all year.

[TE]

As long as he plays the other two games tbh. Timvp is right though about this being a must win game. I actually think the Lakers are a more fluid offense without Kobe so this is going to be a test on the defensive side. Offensively, it's going to be interesting to see how the front court fairs against the Laker bigs. Also, I fully expect various bench players to play better this game compared to the performance in the Jazz game (cough cough Stephen Jackson).

[JRHernandez88]

Good thing I bought tickets for the 20th. :D


Gona be there in full troll mode too.:troll

[siraulo23]

ST meltdown if spurs lose to the lakers

"F pop for killing the team's momentum", "non contender" etc...

[Budkin]

Playoffs are all that matter.

[Splits]

My only worry about this game is that we're up 40 or so in the 3rd and Brown is forced to play his bench and stumbles upon dudes who can actually play, making the Lakers a better team. Because as they stand, with or without Kobe, they suck and aren't getting out of the first round.

[DesignatedT]

Ideally, yes the Spurs 1 but I don't really see that happening. We don't care enough about it.

[Fireball]

Where is the fun in beating the Lakers without Kobe? And they will go to Bynum/Gasol a lot ...

[Venti Quattro]

My only worry about this game is that we're up 40 or so in the 3rd and Brown is forced to play his bench and stumbles upon dudes who can actually play, making the Lakers a better team. Because as they stand, with or without Kobe, they suck and aren't getting out of the first round.

:lmao up by 40
:lmao like the Spurs are going to do anything

[Horse]

It's now similar to playing the jazz two dominant big men and a scoring point guard. Now ofcourse bynum and gaysol are better than milsap and jefferson but the jazz has a better bench and their bigs may shoot a little better. Also may be easier to spread the floor bynum doesn't wanna come out of the paint. As long as we don't let down cause of no kobe we should be fine. I think we have more trouble with good perimeter d than interior, we will see.

[Fireball]

Spurs dominate at home ... Lakers are a mediocre away team ... no Kobe ... Big Three are rested ... we cannot lose this game - looking at this season its simply not possible.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Would be hilarious if Mike Brown trolls Pop by resting Gasol and Bynum too :)

[100%duncan]

Our best chance was Kome. :depressed

[FromWayDowntown]

Kobe = no.

Joey (Crawford) = yes.

[Sportcamper]

Where is the fun in beating the Lakers without Kobe? And they will go to Bynum/Gasol a lot ...
You will soon witness the wrath of Ramon Sessions…:ihit

[Mel_13]

Kobe = no.

Joey (Crawford) = yes.

:lol

Joey is there to let Pop know that Stern is not amused when the Big 3 stays in San Antonio for road trips.

[Fireball]

You will soon witness the wrath of Ramon Sessions…:ihit

He has yet to impress me ... so there is a good chance he will go off against the Spurs :lol

[Sportcamper]

Ramon is no Chris Paul but he is a significant upgrade over Fisher…Also you may be impressed with Crazy Ron; the guy has really worked himself into shape and is playing well…Gasol is good for 20 a night and Bynum is anybody’s guess…If Coach Brown says please & thank you Bynum may just come out and play some defense….

[Venti Quattro]

I hope he doesn't play Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest too much.

[Mugen]

Ramon is no Chris Paul but he is a significant upgrade over Fisher…Also you may be impressed with Crazy Ron; the guy has really worked himself into shape and is playing well…Gasol is good for 20 a night and Bynum is anybody’s guess…If Coach Brown says please & thank you Bynum may just come out and play some defense….

-Metta has played very well lately, barring that last pass against the Hornets

-Sessions has been very good at distributing, attacking, and hitting from the perimeter. Significant upgrade over Fisher offensively. But he's been horrible defensively. I'd say he's a slight upgrade over Fish on defense but I think i'm being generous.

-Gasol has had a very good season so far. Still their best overall big man IMO.

-Bynum has also improved but it's pretty clear that Mike Brown has no control over him whatsoever.

I think it should be a close game earlybut the Spurs bench has the capability of turning it into a blowout by halftime.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I hope MWP rips manu's arms off and beats him to death with them

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

A win would be nice too

[Mel_13]

I hope MWP rips manu's arms off and beats him to death with them

I suppose that the absence of Kobe's elbows makes a more direct approach necessary.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

I suppose that the absence of Kobe's elbows makes a more direct approach necessary.

True, however one carefully executed screen might do the trick.

[Mel_13]

True, however one carefully executed screen might do the trick.

:lol

[Mugen]

I hope MWP rips manu's arms off and beats him to death with them

i hope the coyote pulls a Tonya Harding and clubs Baby Drew like a baby seal, tbh.

Given Manu's fragility this time of the year, your scenario seems more likely.

[Sportcamper]

i hope the coyote pulls a Tonya Harding and clubs Baby Drew like a baby seal


I really need to sign off so I can get some work done…This place is in rare form today…:lmao

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

i hope the coyote pulls a Tonya Harding and clubs Baby Drew like a baby seal, tbh.

Given Manu's fragility this time of the year, your scenario seems more likely.

The coyote's too valuable...send bonner to do it and youre guaranteed a finals berth

[Mal]

Spurs 9,5 point favorite :lmao

[Mugen]

The coyote's too valuable...send bonner to do it and youre guaranteed a finals berth

Bonner would choke and probably club Blake by mistake.

[Venti Quattro]

I hope he also swings at McBob, Murphy and potato head.

[Venti Quattro]

Spurs 9,5 point favorite :lmao

Then the Spurs win by just 9. :lmao

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Bonner would choke and probably club Blake by mistake.

No complaints here:lol

[Mal]

Then the Spurs win by just 9. :lmao

I`m not gonna bet it, but it shows how bookies see this game

[Obstructed_View]

He has yet to impress me ... so there is a good chance he will go off against the Spurs :lol

Don't know if you've been watching. He's a really good scorer, and he's good at moving the ball around. Offensively he's a huge upgrade over Fisher. Most of the complaints I heard about Fisher were that he was a terrible defender, and Sessions hasn't helped at that end at all. Doesn't really matter when you've got shot blockers and good defenders behind you, and he's definitely got that.

[LakerHater]

Excuses will be rollin in ....

[Sportcamper]

Don't know if you've been watching. He's a really good scorer, and he's good at moving the ball around.

That has been the biggest change…Poor ball rotation, not getting Bynum & Gasol early touches was the Lakers problem…Sessions feeds the bigs and has the ability to keep Bynum interested in the game…

[Obstructed_View]

That has been the biggest change…Poor ball rotation, not getting Bynum & Gasol early touches was the Lakers problem…Sessions feeds the bigs and has the ability to keep Bynum interested in the game…

No small feat, keeping Bynum's attention. ;) I think Fisher's still a good defender, but that's just not what they need. Furthermore, I don't think it was Fisher's fault that Bynum and Gasol weren't getting touches, but that's either going to sort it out or it isn't. Having someone with young legs that can do basically what Parker does for the Spurs takes a lot of pressure off Kobe. The only Kobe Bryant I really fear is the one who can pick and choose his spots to kill you instead of the one you know is going to shoot no matter what. The Lakers look like a mess lately because of all the shots he's been taking. They start going inside out and using Sessions to break down the defense they could make more noise than some people around here think.

[Sportcamper]

Be that as it may the Lakers have a glaring weakness…No Bench…They give up 20 point leads like nobody’s business….

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Be that as it may the Lakers have a glaring weakness…No Bench…They give up 20 point leads like nobody’s business….

Josh McRoberts will channel his inner-Austin Croshere c. 2000 Playoffs.

[Obstructed_View]

Be that as it may the Lakers have a glaring weakness…No Bench…They give up 20 point leads like nobody’s business….

That's not an understatement; I just went and looked at their roster. I'd normally try to reassure you that rotations in the playoffs are shorter, and with at least five guys who are capable of pretty damn good defense they'll be okay. The fact that they simply don't look like they go more than six deep is scary.

[Beaverfuzz]

Spurs win big. And fuck Kobe. Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_. :)

[Mal]

Joey Crawford tonight ?

[Mal]

Joey Crawford tonight ?

Found it

L.A. Lakers @ San Antonio Joe Crawford Bennie Adams Brent Barnaky

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Spurs win big. And fuck Kobe. Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_. :)

Racial slurs aren't tolerated here, bigot.